Wikinews:Audio Wikinews/Transcripts/June 1, 2005

Audio Wikinews transcript – 2005 06 01 – 1800 UTC
As reported by Nicholas Gerda

June 1, 2005. This is Wikinews.

Lead Story
France gets a new prime minister President Jacques Chirac of France has accepted the resignation of prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin and has named Dominique de Villepin in his place. The resignation of Mr. Raffarin comes shortly after the resounding refusal of the ratification of the treaty establishing the European Constitution in a referendum. (See France votes no in EU referendum). While Mr. Raffarin was initially popular with the French citizens (polled at 60% of trust in 2002), he gradually lost support from the population, up to record levels; according to polls, only 22% of the population trust him (including only 2% who trust him strongly). The prime minister has responsibility for the day-to-day running of the French government. There are questions whether Mr. de Villepin, who has never held elected office and has ascended mostly as a Chirac aide, will be well-received by the population and by the parliamentary majority. His nomination was immediately criticized by left-wing politicians, as well as by the center-right Union for French Democracy, a junior partner in the ruling coalition, as a continuation of the same failed policies; Mr. Villepin was himself criticized as being out-of-touch with respect of the daily needs of the population. The Union for a Popular Movement, the party created for backing Chirac, has now rallied behind Nicolas Sarkozy, whose reciprocal distaste for Chirac and Villepin is well-published. Jacques Chirac announced that Nicolas Sarkozy would be Minister of State (a honorific rank) in the government; it is yet unknown what his attributions will be, but it is rumored that he will become Minister of the Interior, a position whose main function is law enforcement and which he also held from 2002 to 2004. According to polls, Mr. Sarkozy is France's most popular politician.

Headlines
Huge Gay Pride parade held in Brazil In what may possibly be the largest Gay Pride parade in the world, hundreds of thousands of people marched along the streets of São Paulo, Brazil today in the Parada do Orgulho GLBT de São Paulo. Many marchers were demanding the legalization of same-sex marriage. Brazil is the largest Roman Catholic country on Earth, and the Roman Catholic Church has consistently opposed the legalization of same-sex marriage in the country. The National Congress of Brazil has debated legalization for 10 years, and such civil marriages are currently only legal in Rio Grande do Sul. The original bill was drafted by former mayor of São Paulo, Marta Suplicy. The proposed legislation, after being amended, is now in the hands of Roberto Jefferson. Protesters hope to collect a petition of 1.2 million signatures to present to the National Congress in November. People carrying flags and banners, some dressed in lavish carnival costumes, walked and danced in the ninth annual Gay Pride parade, stretching for 3.5 kilometres along Avenida Paulista. Traffic was diverted throughout most of the city, and drinks and snacks vendors took advantage of the barriers across many streets. Prominent people joining the parade were the actor Sergio Mamberti, representing the Culture Minister Gilberto Gil, and senator Eduardo Suplicy. Organizers stated that 2.5 million people attended, and police stated that there were 1.9 million — figures which would make the event the largest of its kind in the world — including 700,000 visitors from other cities and countries. This was an increase from 2004, when police stated that 1.5 million people attended.

U.S. Supreme Court overturns Arthur Andersen conviction The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday overturned an obstruction of justice conviction against accounting firm Arthur Andersen LLP for destroying documents related to now-bankrupt energy giant Enron Corp.. The verdict virtually put Andersen, once one of the largest accounting firms in the world and the fifth-largest in the United States, out of business. In a unanimous opinion written by Chief Justice William Rehnquist, the court threw out the verdict due to serious flaws in the jury instructions. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals had upheld Andersen's June 15, 2002 conviction in Houston. In the court's view, the instructions allowed the jury to convict Andersen without proving that the firm knew it broke the law or that there was a link to any official proceeding that prohibited the destruction of documents. "The jury instructions at issue simply failed to convey the requisite consciousness of wrongdoing," Rehnquist wrote. "Indeed, it is striking how little culpability the instructions required." Rehnquist's opinion also expressed grave skepticism at the government's definition of "corrupt persuasion"--persuasion with an improper purpose even without knowing an act is unlawful. "Only persons conscious of wrongdoing can be said to 'knowingly corruptly persuade,' " he wrote. The ruling came very quickly, as oral arguments in the case had taken place on April 27. Justice Department attorneys claimed Andersen employees were instructed "undertake an unprecedented campaign of document destruction" in order to impede a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into Enron's conduct. Deputy Solicitor General David Dreeben likened Andersen's behavior to "shredding its smoking guns." However, Maureen Mahoney, arguing for Andersen, countered that the employees involved merely followed the company's policy on destroying unneeded documents, and that the shredding occurred before Andersen received a subpoena on November 8, 2001. She also claimed that under the government's legal definition of "corrupt persuasion," acquittal was virtually impossible. The justices seemed to indicate which way they were leaning very early in oral arguments, as they peppered the government lawyers with hostile remarks. Justice Antonin Scalia called the government's theory of prosecution "weird." Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was particularly troubled by the trouble the jury initially had sifting the evidence. "If this thing is so confusing," she asked, "how is a businessperson supposed to know? How is a lawyer supposed to know?" Andersen's appeal was backed by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. In a friend-of-the-court brief, the association claimed that the government's broad definition of "corrupt persuasion" put defense lawyers at risk for prosecution simply for advising clients of their rights to assert legal privileges or review document retention policies. Despite the ruling, which returns the case to the Fifth Circuit, it is highly unlikely Andersen will ever return as a viable business. It lost nearly all of its clients after its indictment, and was forced to shut down its American accounting practice due to federal laws that forbid convicted felons from auditing public companies. The firm still faces numerous civil suits related to its audits of Enron and other companies. Once 28,000 employees strong, Chicago-based Andersen is now down to around 200 employees largely occupied with handling the civil suits and other details of winding down the partnership.

Live 8 concert plans announced In a press conference held at 13:00 UTC today, Sir Bob Geldof, Elton John, and Harvey Goldsmith announced Live 8, a set of simultaneous free concerts to be held in Philadephia, London, Paris, Rome, and Berlin on July 2, 2005, to raise awareness of Make Poverty History, a campaign to get the richest nations to cancel debt and increase aid to developing countries. The concerts are scheduled to occur just before the G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, from July 6 to July 8. "20 years ago, at the time of the original Live Aid concert, I was a self-obsessed drug addict.", began Elton John. "I've grown up since". He then describe the aim of the concerts to raise awareness in the richest countries of the world of the plights of the poorest, and how his work on global AIDS awareness had impressed upon him the lack of awareness and ignorance that exists. "The Prime Minister of South Africa thinks that AIDS is something that is caused by poverty. I wish!" Bob Geldof thanked the corporations who had already come forward to sponsor the event, including the BBC and AOL. In mentioning AOL he said that "20 years ago, almost nobody had a mobile 'phone", hinting at the possibility of AOL broadcasting the concerts to mobile telephones. Geldof also thanked The Prince's Trust, which had already booked Hyde Park for July 2, for stepping aside in favour of Live 8.

Wikipedia Current Events

 * The Netherlands begins voting in a consultative referendum on the proposed European Constitution. Opinion polls suggest that Dutch voters will reject the treaty by a wider margin than was seen in Sunday's French referendum.
 * Dominique de Villepin becomes the Prime Minister of France following French voters' rejection of the EU's constitutional treaty in a referendum.
 * Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward confirms that former FBI official W. Mark Felt was the Watergate source known as Deep Throat, after Felt revealed his identity in a Vanity Fair article.
 * Metropolitan Cornelius of Petra is designated locum tenens of the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem following the deposition of Patriarch Irenaios, amidst a scandal regarding the sale of church land in Jerusalem's Old City.
 * Fighting in Baidoa threatens to destabilize the transitional government of President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed of Somalia.

Today in History provided by Wikipedia

 * 1495 - Friar John Cor recorded the first known batch of scotch whisky.
 * 1779 - Benedict Arnold was court-martialed for malfeasance.
 * 1922 - A police force in Northern Ireland called the Royal Ulster Constabulary was founded.
 * 1938 - The first Superman comic was published.
 * 1980 - The Cable News Network began broadcasting.

Today's fact provided by Wikipedia
The United States airlifted 22 thousand tons of military supplies to Israel for use in the Yom Kippur War under Operation Nickel Grass.

Thank you for joining us for today's segment. Join us again tomorrow for more headlines, news, facts, and anniversaries; and on Friday, we will have our very first Special Report.

I'm Nicholas Gerda.

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